Order of Immortals
God is eternal, this attribute is what fuels the Immortals whose capacity for eternity is very real. Immortals do not age beyond their thirties, or if they are already older, they regress back to that general age (some Immortals gain control over their physical appearance, but most remain in their thirties). Immortals tend to stick out in any generation, their mannerism and behavior still harking back to bygone eras. Also, their penchant for a wide variety of knowledge certainly makes them appear separate and above the mayfly masses. Immortal's strengths come in what they gain over time: after countless lifetimes, their experience, resources and assets often make them indispensable. As does their contacts. Immortals are very knowledgeable, and their information networks come to run deep. They invariably come to the foreground as intelligence officers in any Chapter. Immortals are hard to kill - the only way to permanently kill one is to pierce their heart. Anything less, even decapitation, will not suffice - eventually it all comes back together again. Toxins, radiation, fire, whatever, it will only temporarily harm or incapacitate them. Only if the heart is somehow pierced or ruptured will their centuries of living finally come to an end. Aspect of God: Eternity AKA: Order of Historians. Immortal Degrees True Immortals (external link) Ruah Facts: -The oldest of the Immortals, those several thousands of years old, either go to slumber deep within the earth or 'ascend' and leave this world for... somewhere else? -Immortals can enter a state of torpor called Dormition, allowing them to sleep for vast spans of time with no ill-effect. -Immortals greatest powers, besides immunity to death, is their intellectual capabilities. Centuries of life have sharpened their wits and perceptions, allowing them to notice even the tiniest of details and extract tons of information from them. -The Antediluvians are said to be the oldest Immortals, and easily among the strongest beings on the planet. Luckily, they appear to be asleep deep within the forgotten places of the world. -Many Immortals come to work in the field of history, both as professors and as field-workers (see the Relic Hunters and Keepers of the Word down below). -Immortals are said to be among the last groups of Supernaturals to possess a working knowledge of Ruah, the very first human language. Said to be spoken by Adam and Eve, only the oldest members of the Order speak it fluently. -It was the Order of Immortals that begun The Trust and they posses a majority bloc of The Trust's leading members. Experiences: Experiences are not supernatural feats but levels of skill the Immortals can achieve after centuries of learning to master the human form. These tricks are not included in the Immortal's Degrees because they are, essentially, entirely human feats of power. Whenever an Immortal gains a Degree above Degree 5, you should think of letting them acquire an Experience as well. -Perfect sense of time and distance: the Immortal can just look and know the distance of a space, also he has a perfect sense of the passage of time. -Power of Foresight: the Immortal's mind can calculate his surroundings so superbly, he can practically know the future for up to five minutes. This 'power' does not predict perfectly, it is simply an act of almost computer like calculating on the brains part, seeing in its imagination how things will play out for the next few minutes. -Know the Group Mind: Immortal has a knack for judging the social situation upon entering it: whose in charge, the rivalries, enmities, alliances, tensions, etc. -Acute Memory: Character has perfect recall of facts, such as names, people, etc. He can recall the exact image of things he saw and take them apart, effectively studying them in his mind as if examining a photograph with his hands. An Immortal with this level of skill would be the Everliving equivalent of 3D image processor. -Kinesthetics: Character has perfect sense of his body, he can move and contort himself in ways no mortal could ever think too. -Mathamatical Memory: Immortal can recall numbers even from many years ago, license plate numbers, codes, lock numbers, even passing numbers such as serial numbers on trucks and grates, etc. With this skill worked out to its fullest, he can even pull apart pages of computer binary code and decipher it, all with but a passing inspection. -Heightened Perception: Immortal has phenomenal eyesight, he can notice small details others easily miss. He can pick out the fake rock with the key in it in the middle of a garden. He can pick out the single, exposed footprint while tracking in the middle of the Everglades, et cetera. -Perfect Pitch: Character's sense of noise and hearing is immaculate, he can detect even the slightest changes in pitch, sound or volume. While he is on the phone, he can tell what else is going on over the line just by the minor background noises. -Foretell Weather: Can sense minor changes in weather patterns that preclude larger changes, making it possible to judge the potential for storms, rain, clear skies, etc. For instance, he can feel a lessening of air pressure on his skin, so slight it would be imperceptible to others, thus informing him the pressure is dropping and a storm is forming. Resources: The greatest power of an Immortal lies in what resources they can accumulate with time. A seasoned Immortal can wipe out his opponents through far more mundane means than combat, he could simply call some favors in with his buddies in law-enforcement and have his antagonist's passport revoked, or pay his private army of hackers to freeze all enemy accounts online. Unlike Degrees or Tricks, Resources must not just be purchased but also maintained. Every time an Immortal would gain a Degree, he can choose to purchase 4 "points" to add to any Resource (either one he already has or a new one, although a new one may require him to explain how his Adept got that resource so recently). Everytime a story arc or gaming session is closed, the player should deduct 4 points from some Resources (preferably the ones he owned). The idea behind this is simple: Resources atrophy with the passage of time. The Immortal struggles to keep his resources up. Therefore, with the passing of game time, his ratings in various Resources go up and down to reflect this. Normally, the amount of points an Immortal gains in a game session of any length should be the same amount he must deduct at the end, in order to keep things steady. Even after an Immortal reaches his full Degrees, he must therefore still acquire points every time he gets a "new Degree" which means in theory Immortals have an infinite number of Degrees (a game system technicality). -Networks = Immortal has a number of important contacts in significant positions or institutions of society. These contacts feed the Immortal important information, information that is often of a secretive and high-value kind. -Bounty Hunters = Immortal has one of many professional bounty hunters he can pay to perform duties for him. These bounty hunters can be ordinary humans or Supernaturals. -Investments = Immortal has accumulated several important investments that provide him with a steady and concrete flow of cash. - Business Chains = Immortal is involved in several, ongoing business enterprises that afford him with both cash flow, resources, and employees. Normally this would take up most of an Immortals time, by storytellers can explain that an Immortal simply has a few trusted individuals run the companies for him, allowing the Immortal the time necessary to take up other causes. -Patron = The Immortal has found a senior Supernatural of some kind, almost always an Adept, who has helped the Immortal learn the ropes. This patron may provide further assistance in various ways to the Immortal. The higher a rating an Immortal has in this Resource, the more powerful his patron is. -Hacktavist = Immortal has hackers, and is probably a proficient hacker himself, allowing him to make cyber attacks on foes. These hackers are paid by the Immortal and thus are employees (of a sorts). -Academia = Immortal holds several degrees in education, probably not all under one alias, giving him access to an extensive wealth of knowledge and professional minds. -Aliases = The Immortal has several aliases, some of which he may keep running simultaneously. This allows him to keep sections of his life walled off. Having this resource, especially at high levels, will almost definitely mean he has dealings with the Trust. At really high ratings, the Immortal might actually be one of the leading figures of the Trust? -City Council = Immortal either sits on city council, has several important and close contacts on city council, or may have been the man who paid for their council altogether... either way, the Immortal has power over the regulations and administrative work of a specific region. Immortals often have several resources like this in major cities around the world. -Politics = Immortal has deep roots in current politics and can ask for favors regarding policy making and elections of state officials. -Military = Immortal may have served in the army and has important contacts in the military (or he may know many of their dirty secrets...). Immortal can quickly gain access to military personnel, assets and bases. Be extremely careful, because chances are the IAS will be aware of any Immortal who is involving himself to this extent in the armed forces of the world. -Law Firm = One of the most valuable assets any Immortal can have, professional lawyers can intercede for an Immortal on all sorts of matters. They can smooth over problems with the law, take care of financial irregularities, and defend him in legal matters. Most importantly, they can even be used offensively against the enemy by filing lawsuits, revealing financial or legal wrongdoing, or just generally jamming up the bureaucratic machinery to halt any plans an enemy might have. -Private Investigator = Immortal has access to individuals or groups with professional-grade skills and equipment in investigation. Usually ex-military or ex-police, these individuals will be able to do the leg work that the Immortal may not have time for. -Historic Locations = Immortal has several important real estates, either mansions, government facilities, historic locations, safe houses, remote islands, or even an old world castle. This Resource can also be used offensively: why go to the trouble of breaking down doors and forcing a nest of Vampyres out when instead you can buy their abandoned tenement building and have it demolished? True Immortals: The Order of Immortals and the True Immortals know of each other, and tend to be close allies. However, when dealing with individuals who measure their lifespans in centuries, the variety of situations in life have taught the Immortals (Adept and Non-Adept alike) that situations may arise when they will be on opposite sides of the fence. Still, the two groups share a basic nature and deity and that's hard to ignore. True Immortals and Immortal Adepts often share information and resources, and assets owned by one often are also owned by the other as well, certainly in the case of corporations, contacts and online websites. True Immortals Factions: -Ancient of Days = These Immortals study the relationship between the science of time and the theology of God as the 'Ancient of Days.' -Relic Hunters = Relic Hunters use their robust cadre of historical knowledge to hunt down objects of importance, both Relics to the Adepts as well as Dark Objects (to destroy them). Relic Hunters often work as investigators or archaeologists. Insurance claim investigation is, surprisingly, a popular role for them, since looking into museum pieces and artifacts owned by private millionaires easily brings one into contact with Relics. -Keepers of the Word = These Immortals tend to vast libraries, either theirs or others, believing that the past should not be forgotten. Major institutions with established libraries will probably have a few of these Immortals affiliated with them. -Order of the Eastern Star = This faction of Immortals follow the ways and traditions of the oldest churches, the Orthodox Churches of the East. -Antediluvians = These truly ancient Immortals, if they still exist, would be among the oldest Supernaturals alive. Dating back to the pre-Noahic flood, their level of knowledge and powers would be that of a demi-god. -Methuselah = These Immortals investigate historical mysteries and seek lost knowledge. -Dust = The Faction of Dust is a small cadre of antique specialists who monitor known antique dealers and auctioneers for signs of Holy Relics or Dark Objects being bought and sold. Veteran Status: Immortals usually won't accept the Title of Veteran until they at least over a 150 years old. Precisely because of their powers of longevity, Immortals feel that a mere 15 years hardly qualifies as 'Veteran' among their kind. While this is not a strict rule, and there would be no way to enforce if one of their numbers did accept the Title sooner, the majority of Immortals have to date accepted the practice. Byzantium: The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, which lasted from the time of Emperor Constantine until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD, was considered by many to be the Utopian dream of the Order of Immortals. Some of the Order's most Senior Members operated freely (and sometimes openly) within the administration of the empire. While Western Europe was mired down in the Dark Ages, the Eastern Christians of the Byzantine Empire were building a colorful and metropolitan empire with art, science, cultural advancement and a strong military force. The Walls of Constantinople defended the empire from an often constant wave of barbarian invasions until the it's fall, when the invention of larger canons smashed them down to the ground. Despite the loss of Byzantium to the Arabs, who were predominantly tied to the Order of Assassins, the Order of Immortals today holds no grudge against them. Being so old, the fall of empires feels too natural to them... -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mNh_6OslNI -http://orthodoxwiki.org/Byzantine_Empire -Fall of Constantinople Ancient Egypt: The Immortals posses a fondness for Ancient Egypt, which may or may not seem all that ancient to some of the Order's members. Egyptian art, culture and history is prized by the older members of the Order of Immortals, many of whom have sizable and intact libraries of Egyptian texts and artifacts. -http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html -http://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/ -http://ancient-egypt.org/ Historical Reenactments: Immortals tend to careers and occupations that deal in the subject of History (no real surprise there). Historical Reenactments are especially fond to them because it gives them a chance to relive the days of times past. And considering how much money an Immortal can generate over the span of time, many historical plays patroned by Immortals are rarely lacking in funds. -http://www.parenfaire.com/ -http://www.gettysburgreenactment.com/ -http://www.worldwartwohrs.org/ Immortals & Degree Progression: Immortals should not progress in their Degrees as fast as mere mortals do. While the first few Degrees (6-8) should be acquired normally, after that it should take an Immortal Adept considerably longer to progress. Remember that Degrees are a sign that the Adept is becoming more in tune with their Divine Aspect. For Immortals, they must live out entire lives in order to accomplish that. Affiliations: -The Trust References: -http://renaissancemagazine.com/ -http://abc.go.com/shows/forever -http://www.amazon.com/The-Legend-Wandering-George-Anderson/dp/0874515475 -http://www.christianbook.com/the-immortal-angela-hunt/9780849942181/pd/942187 -http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/Grail_Knight -http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/people/athanasius.htm -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103442/ Video: